Lissa

Sorry, a Multivitamin is a daily requirement forever and ever amen. At least that's what my surgeon tells me. Truthfully, you'll probably find that you need more than just the multivitamin. My daily regimen at 5 months post op includes: Morning: chewable multi-Vitamin, sublingual B12, Biotin, and two Tums. Evening: two Tums and an extra multi-vitamin if I haven't managed to get some veggies in during the day. Most doctors actually recommend a Calcium pill, but I take the Tums because of interaction with other meds that I take. The vitamin isn't a big blip on the radar. Just find one whose taste you can tolerate. I'm going to switch to a pill I can swallow when I buy more Vitamins, but the chewable pills have been wonderful so far!

Send the letter to your surgeon's secretary and see if that's sufficient. My psyche evaluation was a lot like yours except that my psyche told me that I WOULD be an alcoholic after surgery. I'm not. I think my psyche person needed the services of a good therapist more than I did! And, I actually see a therapist! LOL Don't be worried that the consult wasn't more extensive. Just be glad that you've jumped through one more hoop and it's behind you!

Bye Bye is right! You are doing fine!! Just concentrate on your liquids and the weight will come off. This early post op, you are still dealing with the after effects of surgery. Between the anesthesia and the fluids they pumped into you, it may take a little while for your body to start letting go of the weight. It WILL happen. Right now, your biggest goal should be to get 64 oz of Water in each day, then start working on the 70 grams of Protein. The weight will come flying off and you will be so happy, but don't let the scale run your life. It's just a number, and this is NOT a race. Even if it comes off slower, you will lose the weight if you just stick with the plan. In a few weeks, you'll be back here posting amazing numbers and wondering why this ever bothered you! Good luck on your journey! I can't wait to see the new you!

The dreaded 3 week stall strikes again!! You are NOT done losing weight!! Don't even let yourself think that! This is a great time to take your measurements and see if you are losing inches. If you didn't take them before surgery, then do it now and watch those inches shrink! I lost my first pants size during a stall. I was frustrated by the darn scale and, while I was getting dressed one morning, my pants fell off my booty! That's when I realized that there are lots of NSVs (non-scale victories) to be found. If your clothes are getting bigger and you are more able to do things, then you are still getting the benefits of the sleeve, even if the scale isn't moving. Remember that muscle weighs more than fat. It's definitely true! If you are exercising, even walking and very light weights, then you are building muscle. Even if it's a tiny bit of exercise, it's more than you were doing before surgery and your body responds very quickly to that little bit of exercise. Believe me, I don't work out intensly and I'm seeing HUGE results from my 30 minutes of walking per day and my 3 pound hand weights 3 times a week! At just over 5 months out, I'm seeing definition in my arms and legs, plus my weight is redistributing itself into more feminine lines, instead of the sponge-bob squarepants look I had before! Put the scale away, get out your measuring tape and work on drinking your Water. You will start losing again, and very quickly! Good luck!!

AK Mama, everyone is different in what they can tolerate. I doubt I could have eaten a full half cup of anything that soon post-op, but the consistency of your mashed potatoes and the sloppy joe mix probably made a difference. If they were very loose and liquidy, then they probably slid right through your sleeve, making it easier to eat more. A couple of things to keep in mind: If you have a scale, always measure your food. I could do about 2-3 oz of food at your stage. Also, always eat only until you're satisfied, not until you are full. Especially early post-op, these two things will save you a ton of discomfort and/or actual pain. I notice that I can eat more early in the day than I can later in the afternoon. I also sometimes have days where I want more food than other days, usually around TOM. Once you start on denser Proteins, it will be especially important to measure your food and to only eat till your satisfied rather than full. Learning those two things will make your weight loss and your day to day life easier. I've only had one problem with being sick from food, and that was because I took a drink of liquid after a particularly big meal. I think that following the two rules I listed has helped tremendously with that! Good luck!!

Oh, Sabrina! I'm so sorry you're having a rough time! Hopefully, the tests will all be good and you can go home today, but I'm also glad that your doc is being cautious and careful! I'll give you good news about the bed, though. I slept in mine the first night I was home from the hospital, or the second night after surgery. I also didn't take any pain meds after the first day in the hospital, but I have a pretty high tolerance for pain. Hopefully, once they rule out any problems, you'll be heading home and be able to relax and rest. Hospitals are no place to actually get any rest!

I use salad dressing: ranch, vidalia onion, and italian are my current favorites. I either cook the food in the dressing or use it as a dip. Egg Face has a ton of recipes for dips made from greek yogurt and other liquids if you like different flavors. I'm still working on the flavor/spice thing as far as my tastes go, so dressing works well for me. I adore cocktail sauce these days, too!

Great NSV today!! I was talking to a customer and she commented on my "muscular" arms. I was totally not prepared for that comment. I have been seeing the difference, but had no idea that someone else could notice it yet! WOO HOO!!

Lizbeth, I have no tips, but had to say hello to you! I have friends in Phenix City!!

Measure yourself and notice if your clothes are getting looser. Those things count more than that darned scale anyway! I've been "stalled" on the scale since mid-January, except for a 1 pound loss last week. However, I've lost two pants sizes and I can see and feel the muscles in my arms and thighs! I even got a comment from a customer today on how muscular my arms look! (Posting that one in the NSV Shout-outs in a minute!) Don't let the scale run your life and, at just about 3 weeks out, EVERYONE stalls. Keep drinking your Water, adding in your Protein and do NOT let this get you down. You WILL continue to lose, and at an astounding rate! Good luck!

I agree with Meg on the cabinet sweep! It's way too easy to eat crap if it's in the house. Much harder if you have to go somewhere and get it to indulge in junk. You're not failing, though. You will overcome this. The reason I know it is because you brought it here and left it on the table. Now you have identified the problem, so it's time to do something about it! Good luck!

Irene, I'm so sorry for the difficulties you are having! May your mother-in-love rest in peace! (((Irene)))

Good luck to both of you! I can't wait for your update posts that you are sleeved!!

Awesome!!!

Yeah, there's definitely a learning curve with a brand new sleeve! It's tough to remember all the things you read somewhere when you are in the middle of a bad bout of shoulder pain, or you're feeling like things are just "off". I think that's why we all say "Walk, walk, walk, sip, sip, sip." That was my mantra for the first couple of weeks, and I was concentrating so hard on it that I didn't realize my shoulder pain was from a full sleeve. I kept sipping my Water and walking, but the shoulder pain was pretty constant...until I realized that my shoulder hurt when I took a drink. DUH moment for me! That's when I realized my shoulder pain was actually my full signal! It's changed now at 5 months plus out, but those first few days were tougher than they needed to be because I didn't realize what I was doing wrong. Once I backed off just a tiny bit, the shoulder pain went away. I was just drinking too fast.

Sabrina, Hopefully you'll be heading home today! Congrats on taking a huge step for the rest of your life!!

I love My Fitness Pal as well. I notice that I do much better when I use the app religiously. I actually started out with a paper book, but then I was always looking up how much protein was in different foods. MFP figures it up automatically and helps me track my progress as well.

Rainydayz, You just said one of the most important things I've ever read about VSG. "With the sleeve, if I slip - and I have- then I don't fall all the way back down. I stay right where I'm at until I have the energy and gumption to keep moving forward." That's profound! This is not a race to the finish line. Sometimes we do just need to rest a bit before we start working hard again. Our bodies definitely know this, that's why we have "stalls" or "plateaus".

Some great scale and non-scale victories in that post!! I know you're feeling and looking so much better!! I'm happy to hear that you're rocking your sleeve, but I knew you would! You go girl!!!

LOL, Peacequeen! I'm not an encyclopedia, but I have a great capacity for storing (sometimes useless) information and then recalling it later. Now, if you ask me to recognize a name without a face (or vice versa) I'm totally lost these days!

peacequeen, there are no dumb questions. Dense Proteins are anything that fills your sleeve well. I eat chicken (cluck), pork chops, steak, hamburger, ham, and a lot of Beans. For me, all of those fill me up quickly. Basically, any meat that requires you to chew well is dense Protein. I do eat bacon, both kinds (turkey and pork) and I find that it fills me up fairly quickly. Also, I eat sausage with my eggs quite often. 1 egg and a sausage patty usually fill me up completely, although there are some days that it takes two eggs. Hope that helps to answer your question. Ask away.

blackanese, You'd better! We'll go have a good time! BTW, Ourborous, nice to get a male opinion on boy toy status!

A slider is any food that goes in and out of your tummy quickly. Ice cream, cookies, cake, Cheetos (for me). Dense protein and veggies are so much better for our sleeves and they stick around longer to help us feel satisfied.

Dang, Blackanese!! I think we need to hang out!!

Now I'm SMH! My libido is off the charts, especially since I found out I can once again wear sexy shoes!!! I'm either gonna have to be nice to my dumb DH (we've been separated for 8 months) or find me a boy toy. Hmmmm, dilemma, dilemma.